


Purr

by LorettaFryingPan



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:42:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22991170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LorettaFryingPan/pseuds/LorettaFryingPan
Summary: Kiri wants to play with Frumpkin, Frumpkin wants to nap, and Caleb wants to read. There has to be some way to keep everyone happy.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 138





	Purr

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write a little thing about Caleb and Kiri, because I think the dynamic of excited little kid and weary but caring adult is really cute. Caleb's got a good heart, and I wanted to reflect on that a little bit. Hope you like this as much as I do.

Kiri was adorable, and even though Caleb was scared witless of the fact that they were bringing such a small child with them into peril on a daily basis and teaching her some really bad things all the while, he was quietly grateful for her presence. She was cheerful and sweet, as well as fond of his cat, which endeared her to him greatly; she brought some much-needed light to the group, and her affection came unconditionally. She spent most of her time with Jester, however, which suited him well enough. Jester was bright and colorful, loved to play games, and was overall far more interesting to any child. It gave him more time to work on his spellbook in peace, which he appreciated.

Nevertheless, there were times, in towns and in campsites, where each of them took on bird-sitting duty. Whenever it was Caleb’s turn Kiri seemed to take special delight in rifling through whichever of his many pockets she could get at-even though the contents never changed-or getting Frumpkin to chase a toy around. Aside from those times, she preferred to play with the more vivacious members of the party, but when she napped in the back of the cart he would often send Frumpkin to cuddle up with her.

One evening at the end of a rough day, while he was reviewing some of his more esoteric research with Frumpkin sleeping around his neck, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. He turned to look at Kiri, who had climbed up onto the bench to meet his eye level. She cooed and clicked her beak quietly, surveying him.

“Hello, Kiri,” he said, “was there something you needed?”

There were other members of the group she could go to; Caleb had removed himself to a private table away from the group shortly after dinner, citing a need to study and trying not to let his frayed nerves show. With a surprising amount of tact and a quietly understanding look, Beau had helped to shuffle him towards a quiet corner and pulled the others into a new conversation. From where he was he could see the bright colors of Jester and Molly playing cards and heard their laughter even over the ambient din; surely they were more interesting than a taciturn, dirty wizard with his nose stuck in a book.

She pointed at the bruise on his face, a token from the fight earlier in the day, which by this point had likely turned some lurid shade. “Does it hurt?” She asked in Yasha’s low tones.

“A little bit,” he replied, running one hand up his jaw to gently skim the edges of the injury, “It’ll be fine in the morning.”

She nodded, repeating his words back at him. “Fine in the morning.” Kiri reached out, and he froze as she leaned in to more closely inspect his face and her little claws tapped gently against his chin.

“Was there a particular thing you wanted, Kiri?” He slowly asked, gently leaning away. Kiri knelt down on the bench and nodded.

She opened her hands, reaching for Frumpkin, and meowed. Against his chin, he could feel Frumpkin twitch one ear in awareness, but otherwise his faithful companion remained still.

“Oh, you want to play with Frumpkin?” A nod. “Oh.” He had rather been hoping that wasn’t it.

He had no idea know how to explain that there were times where he couldn’t share Frumpkin, that his cat was sometimes more than a cat, that he was an anchor that kept Caleb’s mind from becoming completely unmoored.

“I’m sorry,” He said, “Frumpkin is sleeping for the night, and he likes to stay close to me when he does.”

She cooed softly, and Caleb felt bad that he had to say no to her. But before he could even offer a distraction, she took matters into her own hands. She lifted up his arm and crawled under it. Startled, Caleb watched her clamber onto his lap and sit down facing him, wrapping his free arm around her reflexively to keep her from falling backwards.

She patted her lap and meowed again.

Caleb, struck temporarily mute by her calm, unquestioning trust and willingness to be so close to him, didn’t know quite how to respond. After a few long, quiet moments, Kiri nudged him with her beak and patted her lap once more, more emphatically this time.

“Oh-oh, you want him on your lap?” He asked, catching on. “So he can sit with both of us.”

She nodded, saying “Yes!” with Jester’s voice. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a couple heads look up, but no one seemed to pay them any special mind.

With a tiny mental nudge Frumpkin hopped from Caleb’s neck; being a fan of small, warm spaces, he was more than happy to settle in the hollow between the two of them, and started purring loudly.

Kiri watched him, seemingly fascinated by the sound. He knew that she had heard him purr before-Frumpkin was a very affectionate cat, after all-had he never explained the sound?

“He’s purring. It means he likes you,” Caleb said. “He feels safe and warm and happy, and that’s how he lets us know.”

Kiri nodded, still staring at Frumpkin. The feathers around her neck fluffed up, and she softly muttered “safe” in his voice. Caleb watched her watch Frumpkin for a moment longer before going back to his reading.

He was halfway through the chapter when Kiri shifted, nestling in closer and resting her beak on his shoulder. He could feel her little claws holding on to his shirt, and tried not to twitch at the almost-ticklish feeling. Frumpkin kept purring, and Caleb wondered how this became his life.

When Kiri took a deep breath and began mimicking Frumpkin’s purring, Caleb was fully at a loss. Somehow he had arrived here. A warm place, with people he could call his friends, a happy cat, and, perhaps most miraculously of all, the trust of those companions. That Kiri, such a cheerful and sweet child, could find peace and safety so near to him was more than he could have dreamed of even six months ago. Not for the first time, he felt wondering gratitude for the twists of fate that had brought the Nein together in Trostenwald.

He went back to his book, settling his hand more securely across her back; when Kiri’s rumbling tapered off into the slow breaths of sleep, he allowed himself a small smile.

He didn’t have the heart to wake her an hour or so later, when the evening was over and they were heading up to their rooms. He waved Jester upstairs when she quietly asked if he wanted her to take Kiri, and ignored Beau’s amused smirk as he coaxed Frumpkin onto his shoulders and tried to get up from the table with her in his arms. He managed it, though, and delicately went up the stairs to his and Nott’s room.

He’d slept sitting up plenty of times before, whether because of a cat in his lap, having gotten lost in a book, or lack of a better place to sleep. His nights weren’t always restful, so he’d gotten good at sleeping where he could. It was without any fuss that he sat against the headboard and closed his eyes.

When he woke up the next morning, it was to the light coming in through the blinds he had forgotten to close and almost oppressive warmth all around him. He could tell immediately that while Frumpkin had initially decided to roost on Caleb’s shoulders, at some point during the night he’d decided to colonize as much of Caleb’s head and face as he could without waking his human up. Kiri was still a warm weight on his chest, and he could feel Nott curled up against his side.

It was still early, but Caleb could hear the sounds of activity in the tavern room below, and could smell breakfast being cooked. It wouldn’t be long before the rest of the party was up and about, and they got together to plan the rest of their day.

He peered down at Kiri, still fast asleep. He could wait just a little longer, he supposed.

Of course, it wasn’t too long before Nott woke up as well, and then they were all getting ready for the day and making their way downstairs.

“Kiri! Good morning! Did you have a nice sleepover with Caleb and Nott?” Jester greeted Kiri as she met them in the tavern room, sitting down at their table.

“Yes yes!” Kiri chirped in Nott’s voice, scooting away from him and Nott to take up her usual spot on Jester’s knee.

She passed the rest of the day like that, holding Jester’s hand or carried on her hip as the group ran errands and got ready to get back on the road. That evening, she roomed with Jester and Beau, like she usually did. Back to normal.

~*~

It happened a couple more times over their travels. Caleb wasn’t looking for a pattern at the time, but later he noticed that it was always during rougher patches.

Sometimes on the road, when it was raining miserably and they were huddled under oilcloth tents around the equally miserable, guttering fire Caleb had built, or in a town that had felt the strain of the war with Xhorhas more keenly than others, or after a rough fight that she had been barely kept safe from.

She wouldn’t even come to cuddle up with him, necessarily. Sometimes it was him, sometimes it was Jester, or Yasha, or Beau. But she would sit on their laps, and when whoever she had chosen wrapped their arms around her, she would start to purr.

Safe. Warm. And happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Do say hey if you enjoyed it, love you! <3 I'm on tumblr (occasionally) at lorettafryingpan/djinn-and-djuice, and on twitter if you know where to look.


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